Tobam Increases Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Tobam boosted its stake in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL - Free Report) by 395.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,075 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,050 shares during the period. Tobam's holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EL. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $8,585,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 47.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 141,804 shares of the company's stock worth $13,392,000 after acquiring an additional 45,687 shares during the period. Harrell Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,285 shares of the company's stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,723,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $570,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533,006 shares during the period. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co increased its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 729.4% in the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 47,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,735,000 after purchasing an additional 41,773 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Estée Lauder Companies from $100.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, HSBC cut Estée Lauder Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.00.

Insider Transactions at Estée Lauder Companies

In other news, Director Paul J. Fribourg bought 43,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $66.35 per share, for a total transaction of $2,853,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 430,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,583,580. This trade represents a 11.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Akhil Shrivastava bought 700 shares of Estée Lauder Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $65.79 per share, with a total value of $46,053.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $156,645.99. The trade was a 41.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 196,700 shares of company stock worth $12,762,093. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of EL traded up $2.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $70.80. The stock had a trading volume of 6,673,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,568,599. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $76.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.56. The company has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.31, a PEG ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 1.03. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.29 and a 1-year high of $159.54.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.30. Estée Lauder Companies had a positive return on equity of 16.82% and a negative net margin of 4.61%. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Estée Lauder Companies's payout ratio is currently -71.79%.

Estée Lauder Companies Company Profile

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.